


Perfect Specimen

by Wolfcigarette



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bottom Reiner Braun, Dominant Eren Yeager, Fluff and Smut, Light Angst, M/M, Plot, Porn with Feelings, Post-Time Skip, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:41:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29194743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfcigarette/pseuds/Wolfcigarette
Summary: Eren Yeager is a senior biology student obsessed with cracking genetic code. One day he reunites with engineer Reiner Braun, which sends him down a spiral of obsession and attraction disguised by genetic curiosity. He craves to known everything about the man he perceives as absolute. Reiner goes along with Eren's plans, not knowing what he's getting himself into.
Relationships: Reiner Braun & Eren Yeager, Reiner Braun/Eren Yeager
Comments: 53
Kudos: 261





	1. Red string of DNA

To any normal person, something so microscopic like genes and traits are things they can live without focusing on. For Eren Jaeger, the study of genes and reproduction fascinates him. He is obsessed with genetic perfection, something he was too unlucky to inherit. To him, his goals were more important than anything else in this world. He had always vowed to be the one to single-handedly defeat every genetic disease. To everyone else, he was just this moody weirdo. 

It was a cool Monday morning in December. Eren hadn’t slept in a few days, thus he sat in his class with dark pink eye bags and short facial hair.

 _Blah blah blah. So boring_ , he thought to himself. He remembers when biology felt exciting to him. He was just a young kid looking to change the world. Every new ounce of knowledge made him smile and get empowered. One can only obsess over something so much. Now his resolve seemed impossible to reach and all this information he had once been head over heels for, felt like nothing. He had been so lost in his mind he didn’t realize class was over.

“Eren!!” a bubbly voice called out to him. He looked up to see a familiar set of blue eyes and blonde hair. 

“Hey, Armin.”

Armin eyed him up and down, “You haven’t been sleeping, have you? Did you forget we have a lab today?”

“No, no, I didn’t. Just stayed up watching some movie about DNA. Didn’t forget about the lab.”

“You look so dead…” Armin thought back to when Eren had first started his studies. There was an unchallengeable fire in his eyes and he was a lot more expressive. Now he’s just left with anger issues and a sense of burnout.

“I'm nooooot. I promise I'm still alive,” he said while stretching his arms behind him.

Armin smiled at Eren’s small display of emotion, “Let’s go then! We have a new friend in our lab to help us with some equipment.”

On their walk there, Eren thought about what he considered the perfect human. He had written a list once. Blonde, tall, strong, structured, caring, and smart were most of the traits he deemed valuable. The irony was that he was almost the complete opposite. If only he possessed some valuable traits then maybe his past wouldn’t have been so traumatic. Such is the life of someone ordinary. He wondered if he would ever meet anyone that could be his special, perfect someone.

Once they arrived at the lab, Eren greeted Mikasa and Jean. Eren usually let all of them do the calculations while he sat in the back thinking to himself.

“Sup, Jaeger. Gonna slack off again like you always do?” Jean asked, earning him a glare from Mikasa.

Eren chuckled, “You know it.”

Mikasa turned her gaze to Eren, instantly grabbing him and looking at his eyes. “You haven’t been eating or sleeping,” she said while turning his head in all sorts of directions to analyze him. 

“I’ll be fine. Why is everyone asking me this today? I look exactly as brain dead as I always do,” Eren claimed while moving his head free from Mikasa’s grasp.

“That’s because Doctor Levi gave us a good scolding for letting your ‘talented’ brain go waste as he calls it,” said Jean, making sure to make a fussy face when he mentioned the word ‘talented’ with air quotes. “Plus, didn’t Armin tell you? A laboratory equipment engineer student is working with us from now on. Think his name is Reiner or something. Some stuck up chad dude.”

“Oh yeah! We had math with him a while ago, remember Eren?” Yeah. Now that Armin mentioned him he remembered. All Eren could remember was being jealous of Reiner’s build. That was long ago though, who knows what he looks like now. 

“Yeah, I do remember. When can we start the lab? I want to be home before sunset,” Eren took a seat and stretched his legs out on the table. 

The team of researchers was so busy with their observations that they barely noticed when Reiner entered the room. 

“Not interrupted anything, am I?” Reiner’s chuckle echoed into the room, making everyone’s heads turn towards the door. 

“Reiner!” Armin ran towards the door to greet him kindly. Everyone except Eren followed. He looked a lot different than when they took that math class together. He seemed taller, more muscular, and had grown out a bit of facial hair. For whatever reason, Eren couldn’t tear his eyes off of him. He snapped out of his trance and slowly walked towards where the group was. 

“Hey, Eren,” Reiner said with his deep honey-like voice, “Been a while”. Eren nodded, shooting him a small smile, and shook his hand. _Such a Strong grip_ , he thought to himself.

“You’re the lab equipment engineer?” Eren looked up to meet his eyes. 

“Oh, yeah. I’m helping you guys out to get some extra credit. Doctor Smith told me there was a lab I could join that was organized by a friend of his, so here I am.” 

Jean stepped in between them, "Alright enough gossip, let's finish this thing before Doctor Levi complains again."

After the nice greeting, everyone went back to their tasks for a few more hours, except Eren who was laying with his head on the cold lab tables, and Reiner who was working with the equipment. Eren seemed to have fallen asleep while everyone else worked, long chocolate locks sprawled across his face and the table. 

Thanks to Armin's amazing brain, the team was able to finish their observations quicker than expected. Armin was actually Doctor Levi's second most promising student and spent a lot of his free time studying neurobiology.

“We’ll see you later Reiner,” Armin grabbed his bag and headed out with the rest of the group, “Wake up Eren whenever you’re about to leave. He tends to do that a lot and I don’t wanna wake him up. He gets really moody sometimes.” Mikasa and Jean waved too as they exited. 

As soon as Reiner was done fixing the equipment, he turned his gaze towards the still sleeping Eren Jaeger. He didn’t want to wake him up either. His little snores were very audible. 

“Eren?” Reiner poked his side softly, earning him some more snorts and snores. He poked him again, slightly harder. Eren slowly opened his eyes and groaned sleepily.

“Man, lab over already?” He stretched out his arms in his seat, feeling as tired as if he had done the work himself.

Reiner took a seat next to him, “Yeah man, everyone left already but I’m heading out soon.” As Reiner looked at Eren, he noticed that his gaze was already fixated on him. Eren looked towards every centimeter of his face, neck, and torso. The look was more of admiration than disgust or anything bad.

“Is there… something on my face?” Reiner asked, staring at Eren as boldly as he was staring at him. 

Eren looked away and got up from his chair, “No. I think you just have an interesting face.” He put on his jacket and stood in front of Reiner. 

“Would you mind letting me study you? Your DNA I mean.”

“Why would you wanna do that?” Reiner stood up as well, kind of confused, and gathered his belongings.

“It's for this individual research I’m doing. I like to extract genetic codes and look at every letter pairing to see what each combination correlates to.” Eren walked towards the door, making Reiner follow. His proposal seemed innocent enough.

“Oh, then sure. I don’t mind a few blood or swab tests.” The pair walked out together, the sky already a mix of purple, orange, and pink. They continued walking in comfortable silence after Reiner’s response. While Reiner had been thinking that the studies sounded innocent, Eren’s reasons for asking him were odder. While taking his nap, Eren had a short dream about Reiner despite only seeing him for a few minutes. It wasn't hard for him to consider making him his new subject. After all, Eren had always been one to believe in weird things like destiny as it pertained to his goals. Although he didn’t know Reiner personally, his physical traits matched most things in the perfect human list. Such an admiration towards Reiner's phenotype right off the bat made Eren question himself a bit but he was quick to think of it as something simply beneficial to his studies.

Reiner broke Eren's train of thought, “You look so much different now, Eren. I remember your hair being much shorter.”

Eren chuckled, “That was so long ago, we’re like almost grad students now. The facial hair is new on you too.” 

“I’m trying out to look a bit older. The clean face makes me look like a prick.”

“ I agree. You looked a lot more annoying back then”

Reiner looked at Eren to see if he could comment about his appearance more. The long hair seemed to fit him more and the small amount of facial hair he had was a bit cute. The long dark hair in front of his face also accentuated his piercing green eyes. 

“You look better now too. A little scarier but it’s nice.” 

“Thanks,” Eren said, making a secretly smug face as he put a small greasy strand of hair behind his ear. Reiner quickly looked away, not sure why such a small move triggered his reaction.

“Can I have your number? For the research stuff of course,” he asked.

Reiner took out his phone and scrolled to the contacts list, “Sure, just put your number in.”

Eren typed away on Reiner’s phone and quickly gave it back. 

“My apartment is around here so I’ll text you more info about the research some other time.” 

The blonde boy smiled at him in the same manly way he always did, “Sure thing.”

With a polite mutual nod, they both went their separate ways. Eren walked the rest of the way to his apartment alone. He felt nothing but a small sense of comfort about his recent encounter with Reiner. Soon he was already occupied with more readings. Reiner however, could not stop thinking about today. He thought about Eren’s odd proposal and felt a bit flattered that he had asked him to take part in something so interesting. His interest could be easily confused for attraction but any suspicious thoughts like that instantly would make him shake his head and tend to a new task. Reiner hopped onto his bed and looked towards his phone, searching up an 'E' until the name 'Eren.' soon pooped up. He smiled a bit. _Why did he add a period?_

Reiner's roommate, Bertholdt, entered his room.

"Did you finish the physics homework? You've been laying around with that blush on your face since you got here."

Reiner made a shocked expression and quickly rubbed his face, "Yeah. I finished it. Do you need it or something?"

Bertholdt laughed as stood near the door, "Nope just wanted to catch you by surprise. Eren Jeager huh?"

"Dude it's nothing! Just happy to meet up with an old friend after a few years," Reiner claimed loudly, still blushing.

"Mhm, that's definitely why you look the way you did a few days before Historia introduced you to Ymir." Bertholdt didn't give Reiner a chance to think of an excuse as he walked out of his room. Reiner cleared his thoughts again. _Yeah, Eren is cute, but he's an angry weirdo. Just looking to get some extra cash since I heard from Zeke that Eren pays for each blood test._ He spent the rest of the night working out and jerking off to cute girls. The idea of Eren had already been erased from his mind, as he lifted the heavyweights in his room with music blasting.

That day, a string of fate was tied to both men, who couldn’t be any more different yet so alike. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys im kinda new to this whole fic writing thing. theres no smut ~yet~ but it will come soon. I hope you all liked it


	2. Cold and hot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little weird at the lab.

Reiner never considered himself to be a bad person. When it comes to getting extra cash as a college student, a lot of people would do anything. When his engineer friend Zeke had mentioned to him he had a friend who liked to pay for DNA tests, Reiner became interested. This scientist weirdo was Eren Jaeger. Reiner never planned to secure a position as his new lab rat but the certainty in Eren’s decision made it impossible to not oblige. 

It was a few days after their initial encounter. Thursday afternoon was a lot warmer than Monday had been. It was the perfect day to go out for a nice jog without getting frozen to death. Bertholdt always joined in on whatever Reiner was doing and so the 2 men jogged around campus. 

“You meeting up with Jaeger today?” Bertholdt asked, trying his best to keep up with Reiner’s pace.

“Yeah, should only take a few minutes. Are you joining me in weights too?”

Betholdt laughed, almost running out of breath, “Hell no, I’m barely keeping up with this.” They both laughed together and kept jogging until they reached their dorm.

While Reiner was working up a sweat, Eren laid cozy in bed. He figured he had to shower and look somewhat presentable unless he wanted to scare away Reiner. It was the first time he considered something of the sort. The last people who he studied were Mikasa and Jean. Mikasa never cared if Eren looked like he crawled out of the garbage and Jean was no one he wanted to impress anyways. _Not that I wanna impress Reiner either but it’s different._

The sun was about to start setting when Reiner began heading towards the lab room where Eren told him to go. He did not know what to expect from their first session and Zeke warned him he did not know if Eren paid his lab rats right away. Nonetheless, the jock continued to walk calmly towards his destination. As soon as he turned the corner of the outdoor campus building, he saw Eren standing in front of the lab entrance. He was wearing a black hoodie and boots. He stood there, cigarette in hand with his legs crossed and back to the wall.

“Eren!” Reiner shouted as he walked towards him. Eren turned his head to greet him and gave a friendly wave. As Reiner got closer, he noticed a bandage wrapped around Eren’s right eye. 

“Holy shit, what happened?”

Eren moved the long strands of hair away from his face, “Oh this? Turns out that table I slept on yesterday had some chemical residue so it stung my eye pretty bad later in the night. Should be fine though, it’s just sensitive for a bit so I patched it up,” he said. The brunette took one last inhale from his cig before stomping it out onto the concrete.

Reiner’s concerned expression relaxed after Eren explained. He let out a sigh of relief, “Man that’s tough. On the bright side, the bandage makes you look badass.”

Eren chuckled lightly, “Well if you say so, then sure. How about we get started?”. Reiner nodded and Eren began to walk inside the lab room.

“How do you get to use this room by yourself?” Reiner asked. 

“Uh, Doctor Levi lets me use it since he knows the research is going towards my future thesis,” Eren explained as he headed towards the back of the room to get some items.

“Can you do me a favor and sit over there?” He pointed towards the empty chair close to him. Reiner walked over, setting down his bag. Eren looked over his shoulder to examine Reiner. He was wearing a muscle tank with shorts as if he had come here directly from the gym. The idea seemed to make sense given Reiner’s build. Eren could see the beads of sweat along the tips of his hair and neck, glistening with the sun rays that were peering from the window. He diverted his vision to focus on setting up a cotton swab for the DNA test. 

“So what comes first?” Reiner asked.

Eren walked towards the chair, holding a cotton swab and a plastic tray, “I’m first gonna rub this Q-tip along your inner cheek to gather some of your DNA. That’ll allow me to do a few basic tests like checking your background and compare it to some other tests I’ve received”. Eren stopped walking and stood in front of Reiner, eyeing him again as he did when they met the other day. Reiner could feel his piercing eyes staring all over him, making him a little flustered.

“Okay sounds good,” He said to relieve his tension.

Eren inched closer to his face, “Okay now open your mouth for me”.

Reiner’s lips parted, instantly letting Eren see inside. Eren could feel Reiner’s steamy breathe against his fingertips. He could also catch the faint smell of sweat that surrounded the blonde man. It was heavy and intoxicating in the most delicious way. The beads of sweat continued to hang from Reiner’s fair, pink undertoned skin, sliding into the rigidness of his exposed muscles. Eren continued to rub the Q-tip inside Reiner’s cheek, gazing at the way Reiner’s tongue was trying its absolute best to stay still. He then turned to look at his parted lips, taking in the light red color and the small cracks along his bottom one. In return, Reiner stared into Eren’s concentrated green eyes (really just the one that wasn’t bandaged). Something was interesting about the hot air in the room, but neither of them could understand why. The lab was always air-conditioned and cold to keep things sterile but whenever Reiner was around, it felt unbearably hot. 

The tension between them was broken when Eren pulled the swab away and turned around. Reiner looked down at his lap, trying not to be visibly embarrassed over a small thing like having a cotton swab in his mouth. 

“Alright, I got a good sample, you down to let me draw some blood too? It’ll help me see how healthy you are.”

“Sure, I don't mind,” Reiner answered, slowly coming down from whatever he was feeling.

The blood test was a lot less intense. Eren kept most of his distance as Reiner extended his arm. Once Eren had drained enough of the crimson liquid, he wiped the area where he had pierced and placed a small bandaid over it. 

He walked back to the equipment area, “Okay, looks like that's it for today you’re free to go.”

Reiner got up from the chair and walked towards Eren, watching how he took a drop of his blood and set it onto a glass piece. 

“What are you gonna do with it?” 

Eren didn’t look away from his task, “I’m gonna examine the sample in a microscope first to look at your white blood cell count. Really simple stuff.”

“Why exactly do you do all this?” Reiner asked, intrigued by Eren’s dedication.

“I think to cure things, you have to know everything about what a healthy person looks like,” Eren took the glass and placed it under the microscope.

Reiner hummed in amusement, “This stuff is actually pretty cool. Way cooler than working with machines and codes.”

Eren chuckled, “Well, analyzing DNA is sort of just looking at the longest and most complex code there is. It's interesting how just the difference between 1 amino acid in a certain area can affect how your body creates reactions. There are so many complex things going on beneath our skin. To be able to crack any of that information would lead to knowing how to cure mostly everything!” Eren looked excitingly towards Reiner and quickly turned back to look at the microscope, embarrassed at how he rambled off.

Reiner let out a strong laugh, “That’s the Eren I know. So full of resolve just like you've always been. I completely support your studies.”

Eren chuckled in an embarrassed manner, “Y-yeah, I’m quite glad that you accepted to let me study you. Usually, people decline because there’s nothing in it for them.”

Reiner froze a bit once he heard that. He realized that Eren didn’t say anything about paying him yet, meaning that he purposely left out that small detail.

“Yeah, yeah, uh, don’t worry about it,” Reiner managed to say with a hint of guilt still pestering him. Eren could only smile to himself as he pressed his eye onto the cold microscope. Although the science behind the whole thing was not Reiner’s reason for accepting the deal, he could still admit what Eren was doing was something incredibly important. 

“Oh also, for the next session could you not be so sweaty? I don’t think you should wear a tank top in a lab unless you want what happened to my eye,” Eren said cheekily. _Yeah not because you distracted me or anything_. 

Reiner’s face flushed to a deep red, “Yes! I’m so sorry about that! It won’t happen again.”

Eren finally turned away from the microscope and smiled, “It’s fine I’m just saying for your safety, ya know? Now go home and shower.”

“Heh, I’ll leave you to it then. Mustn’t take away this precious moment between you and my blood cells,” Reiner picked up his belongings and headed towards the door, waving at Eren before exiting, “See ya!”

As soon as Reiner closed the door behind him, Eren stared down to see that his pants were extremely tight. He sighed in relief. It became clear to him that just having someone like Reiner Braun within proximity made him feel as if he was going to combust. It wasn’t just the way Reiner stared at him, it was Reiner’s smell and the sheer nakedness of his skin that triggered something within Eren. He suddenly remembered feeling this way when they had to work on a math assignment alone a few years ago. Now that Reiner looked even more muscular and manly, those same feelings were set ablaze.

“This will certainly make this month a lot more interesting,” Eren said as he got up from the chair, and continued the rest of the analysis.

Eren stayed holed up in the lab for another few hours. He walked home in the dark while listening to some music, the cool wind caressing his smooth face. He opened the door to his apartment, immediately catching a whiff of some warm soup, and saw Armin in the kitchen.

“Welcome home Eren!” he smiled brightly. Eren replied with a small grin and took off his shoes. 

The brunette sat in front of the kitchen counter, “ Surprised to see you home this early. What’s the occasion?”

Armin lowered the heat on the stove before turning around, “Finals week is over so I thought I’d invite over Jean to watch some movi-”

“Jean’s here!?” Eren quickly interrupted. They both turned their heads to the noise of the toilet flushing.

“Yo, is the food ready or what?” Jean asked, wiping his wet hands on his shirt. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Eren looking his way.

“Maaaan, I didn’t think you’d be home this early. Weren’t you giving Reiner a physical or something?”

Eren glared at Jean as he came to sit in the chair next to him, “No, it wasn’t a physical idiot. I did exactly what I did to you a few months ago.”

“How can you say you want to know all about the man if you won’t even cup his balls and make him cough?”

Armin interrupted their bickering, “Jean! I said be nice today! I just wanna watch a movie without you guys being assholes to each other.”

Eren went over to the pantry to grab a bag of chips, “Okay fine, we’ll behave. Just for you Armin.”

Jean groaned, “Yeah, fine. I’ll be on my best behavior. Can we eat now?”

Armin smiled and gathered 3 bowls, placing a noodle soup into them and taking out 3 sodas from the fridge.

“Damn this looks good. What is it?” Jean asked.

The blonde walked over to set the bowls on the table in front of the TV, “It’s a recipe I got from Mikasa! I’m trying to practice more oriental dishes,” his smile was proud as he finished setting everything down. 

Jean was the one who took the first bite, “HOLY SHIT. Armin, this tastes so fucking good.” He continued to gulp down the soup while Armin looked at him with pure delight. Eren took a bite too. 

“Mmm, this is good..”

Jean instantly interrupted him despite having his mouth full, “Just good? This is amazing!”

“Ah, I’m glad you guys like it,” Armin said, sparkles in his eyes. The group continued to eat their food and watched some random movie. Little moments like this were what made Eren feel so human. Although Eren often felt like a crazy loner, his friends accepted him just for who he was, even Jean somewhere deep inside liked to be around him. 

Jean continued to talk with his mouth full, “So.. what other test are you doing on Reiner?”

Eren hummed pensively, “Let’s see. Uhhh, I think besides the blood and DNA I took samples of today, I might also do a fertility test to see what exact genetic components affect that sort of thing.”

“Wait, a fertility test?” Jean laughed loudly, “You’re gonna make him cum?!”

Eren threw a pillow at him, “Not like that, idiot. Fertility tests are important. Do you realize how much sperm donors get paid just for jizzing in a cup? If Reiner’s genes are good and so is his fertility, I can refer him to a clinic.”

“How come you didn’t run that test on me? I could be making bank right now.”

“Well, your genes aren’t exactly favorable. They’re not bad, it’s just not what clinics are looking for right now.”

Jean rolled his eyes, “Tch.”

Armin chuckled, “Isn’t weird to be someone’s father without knowing them? I don’t think Reiner would be into something like that.”

“Armin’s right Eren. I think girls would even pay more just for the _Reiner Experience in 3D_ ”

Eren made a confused face, “What the hell do you mean?”

“All the girls are talking about it right now. I heard from Ymir that he’s packing.”

Armin made a confused face as well, “Ymir of all people told you that?”

“Well she heard it from some other girls she hangs around and then told me about it as soon as I said he was working in our lab. We’re talking like, massive,” Jean said as he widened his arms. 

Eren glared at Jean, “Can we stop talking about Reiner, please?”

“Fine, I just thought it was funny information but you took it kinda seriously, huh?”

“No, I didn’t. I’m gonna go to my room. You guys have fun,” Eren said as he got up from the couch and left the pair alone.

Armin quickly turned around, “Goodnight, Eren!”

As soon as he stepped into this room, Eren let go of his collected expression. He jumped into his bed, breathing heavily onto his pillow as if steam was coming out of his ears. _What an embarrassing thing to be talking about,_ he thought to himself as he pulled out his phone. Could Reiner Braun be his dream someone? His thoughts sounded so silly to himself. He remembered how hard he had gotten at the lab just by feeling Reiner’s hot breathe. It was too unusual for Eren to have any crushes or be sexually attracted towards someone. He had seen porn before but nothing had ever made him hard just off the bat. It was undeniable that Eren felt something towards Reiner, one-sided or not. All Eren could do for now was watch from afar. He didn’t want to scare away his test subject considering the situation was already a bit weird. He vowed to act as if he was not attracted to Reiner at all. Only when he was alone could he think about the gentle ways in which he would want to caress his body. Eren’s phone suddenly buzzed, snapping him out of his fantasies. It was Reiner.

“C’mon man, seriously? Why did I need to text him something so boring?” Reiner asked Bertholdt as they sat together in his bedroom.

“You gotta build the suspense I think. If you text him something like ‘hey what are we doing for the next lab’, he’ll probably be all formal and serious.”

“You mean he’s not always formal and serious?”

“No, believe it or not, he used to be pretty rambunctious around Jean in freshmen year before he became a recluse.”

Reiner pressed his hand up to his chin, thinking about his current dilemma. Suddenly his eyes widened, “Wait, why am I even getting worked up over this?!”

Betholdt shrugged, “Dunno, did something happen at the lab?”

Reiner’s mind suddenly flickered to the intensity of their interaction, “Uh, nope. Nothing at all. How crazy can some blood testing get?”

“Considering how you’re acting, very crazy.”

The jock rubbed his face, “He’s so scary now I think it made me a little uneasy.”

“Well, now you know why Connie declined to be his lab rat,” Bertholdt said, making his way out of the room, “How about you get some rest to calm your nerves?”

“Yeah.. that’s a good idea. Goodnight, Bert.”

With that, Reiner was left alone in his room. Whatever weird shit was to come, he would face it like a man. He needed the money anyways. His phone buzzed. 

_Not much just laying here watching youtube_ , read the grey bubble on the screen. 

_Damn, he types as dry as he sounds,_ Reiner thought. Every time Reiner closed his eyes, he could see Eren’s emerald ones staring at him. It was as if he was hijacking into his brain. With thoughts of Eren’s eyes, it didn’t take long for Reiner to imagine his silky locks of hair and olive-colored gentle hands. When Eren put the swab in his mouth, he could feel the cold radiating from his fingertips. Reiner looked at his phone again and responded to the text.

_Same here_

It didn’t take long for his phone to buzz again.

_Btw, I’ll hve your tests ready by monday so we can do the next ones after that_

_Cool see you then_

With that last text, Reiner locked his phone and stared at the ceiling. He smiled to himself. As much as he tried to tell himself it wasn’t true, he really couldn’t wait to see Eren again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man this is so fun to write.. also spoiler alert I know close to nothing about DNA and blood tests so thanks for putting your trust in me. hope you all liked it


	3. The Lake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reiner is asked to masturbate in a cup and the gang goes to visit the lake

“Please touch me, Eren,” Reiner laid sprawled on his bed, every inch of his chiseled torso and v line exposed. His nipples were pink and flushed, begging to be rubbed and played with. The buckle of his belt was already undone, large length traced onto the cloth of his white boxer briefs. It didn’t take much begging for Eren to cage Reiner between him and the bed. The brunette set his soft lips onto Reiner’s neck, instantly tasting the sweet saltiness of his skin before sucking and biting hard to mark him. The jock squirmed under his touch, surprising Eren that such soft wet noises and pleads were escaping the lips of someone so manly and big.

Reiner’s whines slowly became distorted and began to sound more like an alarm. Eren slowly opened his heavy eyes, realizing that he had been dreaming of Reiner again. He sat upon his bed and turned off the annoying noise that ruined his dream. Lately, every single time Eren went to sleep he would dream of Reiner in various lewd scenarios. They started innocently at first, slowly becoming more and more explicit whenever Eren slept. The dreams were especially hard to ignore since they made Eren wake up with a raging erection. He groaned and furrowed his eyebrows, covering his face with his pillow. He sat there for a few minutes hoping the tight feeling would go away. There was no way his pride would allow self-pleasure to the thought of Reiner. 

It only took a few minutes of thinking up disgusting scenarios for Eren to fully be relieved of whatever the dream had caused him. The brunette showered and put on his best outfit (for no reason of course). One of his guilty pleasures was investing in archive fashion even though you couldn’t really tell any of his clothes were expensive. Armin was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast when he came out of his room.

“Goodmorning, Eren!” the chirpy boy said as he flipped over some eggs on a pan.

Eren sat in his usually counter side chair, “Morning.”

“Phew, I’m so glad we don’t have class or lab for a while. I feel so free,” Armin said as turned off the stove and took his apron off. 

“Me too. I hate morning class so much. I’ll still be going to the lab to finish examining some things but that’s all I’ll be on campus for.”

“Oh, I almost forgot about that. How about you take the day off today? I was thinking we could go on a small hike to see that lake nearby. I’m inviting Jean so maybe you can invite Reiner and Bertholdt.”

Eren hummed as he gave Armin’s suggestion some thought, “That sounds like a good idea actually.”

Armin smiled brightly, “Yay! You usually would say no to stuff like this. I’ll text Bert to let him know.”

“I guess I’m coming out of my shell a bit. I’m still going to do that last lab test though. Should be done before 6,” Eren took out his phone to send a text.

“Okay, that works. Gives me some time to go and wake up Jean too.”

-

Reiner awoke to the sound of early spring birds chirping. He was quick to rise on his feet, stretching his broad shoulders in front of the morning sun that peeked in through his bedroom window. Normally, he would’ve slept in more and gone to the gym, not showering or eating until an hour before noon, but today was different. Today wasn’t any ordinary day simply because Reiner could see Eren again. He disregarded the excitement that coursed through his system, however, and passed it off as just ‘being in a good mood’. Bertholdt was still asleep, most likely avoiding being dragged into an early morning workout session. 

Reiner sat in his room, egg-filled protein shake in hand. He suddenly heard a muffled buzzing underneath his covers. He rushed quickly to find the phone and deep down hoped the text would be from a certain someone.

_ lab today at 4? need 1 more sample for a test _

Reiner’s lips extended into a smirk.

_ Got it. See you then _

Only a few minutes passed before Reiner’s phone buzzed again.

_ also Armin is inviting you and bert to lake trost later sooo lemme know later what you think _

_ Sure, Ill ask him when hes up _

If the lab was enough to excite Reiner, then the idea of hiking around lake Trost with Eren and his friends sounded even better. Reiner was pulled away from his thoughts once more as his phone buzzed in his hand.

_ btw dont jerk off today _

What…? The assertive expression that was plastered onto Reiner’s face instantly became one of shock as his jaw dropped, cheeks becoming extremely flushed. He reread the message a few times before confirming that he was not dreaming. 

_ Uhhh okay  _

Reiner internally screamed at the odd request.  _ Eren must have a reason for suggesting it _ , he thought to himself. Whatever he had planned today would surely be weird.

It was like time went by even quicker after those texts from Eren. Before Reiner knew it, he had already showered and was on his way to the lab. He made sure not to wear a tank top or shorts like Eren instructed (he also didn’t masturbate). Instead, he wore a bomber jacket over a t-shirt, making sure he looked clean before heading out the door.

It didn’t take long to reach the lab. Just getting close to it reminded Reiner of the tension that was created in that room 3 days ago. The whole guilt about the payment issue also still lingered in his mind no matter how much he tried to overlook it. 

Reiner took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Eren slowly peeked outside before opening it all the way.

“Hey, welcome back.”

“Sup, Eren. What kind of stuff are we doing today?” Reiner asked as he let himself in the lab room. Eren looked really nice. He wore black jeans and a button-up shirt. His sneakers were like converse but looked a little bit more avant-garde. Actually, this was probably the first time Reiner had seen Eren dressed up so nicely. Usually, he was all greasy and burnt out from classes.

Eren closed the door behind him, “I’m going to keep looking at the results from all the other tests but I do have 1 more sample I need from you.”

Reiner raised an eyebrow, “and that is?”

“Uhh,” Eren rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “I need to do a fertility test. It’s why I asked you not to masturbate. It’ll help me see what parts of the DNA strand affect fertility and I want to know if you have any underlying diseases I’m unaware of.”

“Oh… right. I assumed it would be something like that anyway,” Reiner was quick to assert his dominance and coolness, “So what I have to jerk off in a cup or something?”

Eren chuckled, “Yeah something like that. Bathrooms over there,” he said, pointing at the nearby door, “Let me get you a sample cup too.”

Eren handed Reiner the plastic cup, grazing their fingertips together and making Reiner jump a little, “Don’t be weirded out by it. Just pretend I’m not even here.”

“Nah of course. It’s the least I can do for science so I’m not embarrassed,” Reiner said, trying incredibly hard not to blush on the spot. 

“Phew, that’s really good to hear. Good luck,” Eren smiled and made his way to the furthest corner of the room to peer into his microscope.

Reiner turned his heels and headed into the Lab’s bathroom. This was definitely not what he expected. A billion thoughts invaded his head. What if he came too quickly and Eren thought it was funny? What if he accidentally moaned? What would Eren think about? He internally panicked as he sat himself down on the toilet, undoing the buckle on his pants.  _ It’s easy Reiner, just think about some girl with nice tits jerking you off.  _ He slowly took out his soft member, holding the plastic cup in this other hand. Reiner wrapped his warm hand around his shaft, sliding it up and down. He was trying so hard to concentrate on something arousing as he continued to move his hand up and down, gliding his thumb against his sensitive tip. He imagined a cute girl sprawled out in front of him, spreading herself in all sorts of lewd ways for him to see. Just a thought like that was able to make him fully hard. What can he say, his mind was pretty weak to perverse content. He gripped his hard length, sliding his foreskin across his tip and making the small bead of precum spread around the head of his cock. 

The girl in his imagination climbed on top of him, rubbing his erection slowly with a wet hand. As Reiner began to concentrate on the girl, he realized just what he was doing. The girl’s long brown hair draped over her pretty face as she stared at him with piercing emerald eyes. Reiner gripped his dick even harder, covering his mouth with his arm as his body became unbearably hot. 

“Reiner, let me make you cum.” The bluntness of the voice in his head resembled Eren so much. This was no random girl in his imagination. Reiner was masturbating to the thought of an Eren Jaeger without a shirt giving him a handjob, and  _ fuck  _ did it feel good. Reiner imagined the coolness of Eren’s grip as the cute brunette twisted his hand up and down, the other hand fondling Reiner’s heavy balls. 

“You like this don’t you?” The Eren in his imagination inched closer to his face, blowing hot breath onto his mouth.

Reiner softly spoke out loud, “God, yes.” He continued to jerk himself off. His mouth was ajar and it would only take a few more seconds before he started to drool. Reiner pleased himself more, the graphic scenes in his head getting too intense before feeling his cock twitch and a heat building up in his abdomen. 

“Eren, you’re making me feel so g-good mmm,” Reiner jerked his hips forward, riding out his orgasm and spilling all his thick cum into the plastic cup. He sat there as he panted heavily, trying to process what he had just done.  _ This was for science.. Right?  _ Reiner pulled up and buttoned his pants. As he went to close the lid on the plastic cup, his eyes widened at the amount of cum he had shot into the thing. He couldn’t hand it to Eren like this, it would just be weird. He spilled a bit of the liquid into the toilet before closing it again and walking out of the bathroom.

Eren quickly turned his head to look at Reiner once he heard the door creak, “All done?”

“Y-yeah,” the blonde boy walked the cup over to Eren’s work area. Eren examined the cup carefully and set it over to the side somewhere.

“I promise that was the last sample I needed. No more weird stuff,” Eren said as he got up and cleaned his workspace. “We should go meet up with Armin and the others. It's almost 6. I can talk to you about the results some other time.”

Reiner sighed in relief, “All good results I hope.”

“Definitely all good results. You’re a literal unit, Reiner.”

“Well, people didn’t call me ‘the bull’ in high school for nothing.”

Eren laughed, “No way they actually called you that. Let’s get out of here.”

The two boys walked towards Eren’s dorm in the same comfortable silence they always did. It was as if Reiner didn’t just shoot ropes to the thought of Eren and as if Eren didn’t tell Reiner to masturbate and cum in a lab bathroom. 

“Hey, Reiner?”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you choose to become a laboratory equipment engineer?”

“I guess I just like making and fixing things, especially if they’re gonna help others.”

“Hmm, I was expecting you to say something about just wanting a lot of money instead.’

Reiner chuckled, “That’s just an extra perk.”

They soon reached Eren’s dorm. Bertholdt, Armin, and Jean were already waiting outside for them. 

“You guys made it!” Armin exclaimed. 

“Great now we can get going before the sun sets. The sunset is like the best part about lake Trost,” Jean said, picking up his backpack.

Both guys walked closer to the group and they all headed to Jean’s car.

“One scratch on this baby and I’m kicking whoever’s responsible out of the car,” Jean looked at Bertholdt, Reiner, and Eren, who were sitting in the back.

“How do you know Armin won’t scratch it up too?” Bertholdt asked coyly.

With that question, Jean looked back towards the front and pointed a finger at the boy in the passenger seat, “That applies to you too, Armin!”

“Ehhh? Why are you acting like you haven’t clogged my toilet a ton of times?” Armin asked innocently, not quite realizing how much punch his question had until he said it. Everyone in the car except embarrassed Jean erupted into laughter. Eren looked out through the window, watching his lips turn into a smile through the reflection. 

Once they arrived at their destination, the group walked through the trees and followed the trail to the camp area. After a few minutes of walking and cracking jokes, they arrived at the site. It was a small hill overlooking the lake with a perfect view of the sunset as well.

“We made it just in time,” Jean said as he sat down on the grass and opened his backpack. “I brought beers,” he handed one to everyone except Armin, who was to be the designated driver.

While everyone made conversation, Eren took a seat as close to the hill edge as possible. He looked over the scenery. The sun was already on its way down to meet the horizon. The colors of the sky had gone from blue to purple and deep pink, a contrast that Eren had not seen in a while. He took out his phone and snapped a picture.

“Pretty nice huh?” asked the rich honey-like voice that could only belong to one person.

Eren took a deep breath to taste the grassy air, “So nice… It almost seems fake.”

Reiner took a seat next to Eren, “Yeah, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen something like it.”

“Guys, don’t forget to make a wish when the sun is about to set!” screamed Bertholdt from behind them.

Nature was so still and silent, only the sounds of laughter and talking along with the cracking of open beer cans mixing with the wind. The ambiance gave Eren so much peace.

“Reiner, about what you said earlier, wanting to help people and all that.” Eren said, pulling his knees up to rest his head on them, “You’re going to help a lot of people, so thank you.”

Reiner blushed and smiled as he looked at Eren, “It’s no problem. You're the one doing all the amazing work anyway.”

Even when he wasn’t looking directly at him, all Eren could think of was Reiner. Though he felt gratitude for being here with everyone else, the jock held a very special place in his mind. Eren had to admit, he was a pretty good actor for playing it off as cool the entire day. Even just sending such a risky text in the morning had him flustered. One could only imagine the sort of thoughts that were going through his head when they were at the lab. If he was honest, he really liked Reiner. There was no way he would ever tell him anyways. Even if they remained friends forever, that would be enough for Eren. He thought about how kind Reiner was to have accepted to do weird research work.  _ Oh yeah, I should probably mention something about payment soon. _

Eren was lost in thought when the sun touched the horizon and the group cheered. Everyone took a sip from their chilled beers. Jean wished for some money. Bertholdt wished to do good in his career. Armin wished to be the best brain surgeon one day. Meanwhile Eren and Reiner both subconsciously wished for the corniest thing a guy could wish for. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this chapter! Thanks for all the sweet comments they seriously make my day. Also in case you're wondering, the weird sneakers Eren's wearing are Rick Owens Ramones. It's a funny little headcanon I have


	4. Bye June

Since they all hung out at the lake, the group of boys had been meeting up more frequently for ‘boy’s night out’ or as Jean corrected it, ‘men’s night out or in’. They had even started to invite Connie into their late-night hang out sessions when he arrived back from visiting his parents. 

“No no, hands down, Historia’s the cutest,” Reiner said, leaning back into the couch with a can of beer in hand. 

“Yo, do not let Ymir hear you, she’ll tear you to shreds.”

Armin sheepishly spoke out loud, “I think Annie is pretty cool.”

The room went silent, instantly making Armin blush, “Well not like that! She’s a good friend!”

Jean went over and put his arm around Armin, “I’m so proud of you. I never thought our Armin could develop a crush for a girl. You’ve grown so much!” the boy spoke as he pretended to sob. The group continued to laugh loudly with the sound of some random action movie playing in the back.

“Who do you think is the cutest of the girls, Eren?” Bertholdt asked, taking a sip from the chilled alcohol. Reiner glared at him, only receiving a smirk in response.

Connie spoke out, “It’s gotta be Mikasa. She definitely has the hots for him.” Reiner looked at Eren, attentively waiting for his answer.

Eren chuckled lightly, “I think they’re all pretty cute.”

The room was filled with groans. “Dude, you have to pick at least one! None of that chivalrous bullshit!” Jean pointed out, slurring due to being on his 4th beer.

“I just don’t really care. I can say I always thought Historia was pretty cute.”

The acceptable answer made the group continue their conversation with a few audible ‘fair enough’. They all continued to watch the action movie and pigged out on whatever was available. Reiner inched himself closer to Eren on the couch like a magnet. They both had gotten a lot more comfortable with each other due to the frequent hangouts. They never really talked too much or too little. Just the feeling of Eren’s side against his own was enough to make Reiner feel complimented and cozy. 

Even after feeling him get closer, Eren looked over to Reiner, who was meticulously watching the film, only breaking his concentration to sneak in a few drinks.

“What are you thinking about?” Eren asked.

Reiner quickly responded, “How shitty this movie is.”

“Alright film master, what kind of stuff do you like to watch then?”

“Well don't get me wrong I really like action and drama when it’s done right. All the John Wick ones are nice but I feel like it’d be better if he had more muscle.”

Eren rolled his eyes, “Not everyone can get huge gigantic muscles like yours, you know?”

Reiner smirked, “Of course I know. Just wanted to brag.”

The pair laughed and continued to watch the corny movie. Eren’s mind strayed off to think about how Reiner was right. After analyzing his DNA a bit, he had realized that one of the codes that were repeated often was one allowing efficient muscle building. It was interesting to see all the hidden details about Reiner’s genetic code especially since Eren was able to point out how they affected the blonde’s physical build quite often. It was hard to admit, but Eren was definitely a bit more obsessed with Reiner than he was when they first started the research. The more he looked into all the tests, the more he admired the larger man, leading him to ponder various things about him even right before bed. Just to have such a perfect specimen next to him, thick arms brushing against his own less toned ones, was enough to give him immense satisfaction. 

“What classes are you taking next quarter, Eren?”

Eren took a brief drink from his beer, gripping the can softly with his fingertips. Reiner noticed that at every end of his long fingers, his nails were coated with black nail polish. That was definitely new.

“Uh, I honestly think I’m going to take a year off. I haven’t been interested in class at all.”

“I feel the same. We’re so close to graduating I want to savor my college years a bit more.”

The pair was quiet again, repeating the same pattern they always had with their conversations. Although Eren and Reiner had been hanging out quite a bit, the only times where the 2 met alone was during research. Reiner always sneaked in a few touches when they were out together, making his hand brush against Eren’s, or _accidentally_ bumping into him just to get to smell him a bit. Sure it was pretty creepy of him to be so conscious about any small touch he shared with Eren but that’s just what a crush does to a guy. Reiner wished he could be Eren’s test subject forever.

Eren spoke once again, “You should stay over tonight. Jean will be here too and I don’t wanna be stuck with just him and Armin.”

Reiner’s lips pulled into a very flustered smile before he collected himself, “Sure, I can stay. I’m too drunk to walk home anyway.”

Eren and Reiner stopped shutting out the world just to focus on each other and finally looked towards their friends. All of them were wasted out of their minds. Even Armin who was never a big drinker, was on the verge of passing out, dying of laughter with whatever unintelligible jokes Jean said. Bertholdt and Connie couldn’t help but laugh just as much. It only took a few minutes for them to start a whole karaoke session.

“Like a falleeeeennn annggeeellll~” Jean sang out loud, voice cracking with every high note.

Eren and Reiner giggled at the act. They were both drunk but by the looks of it were probably the soberest ones in the room. Just the presence of one another was enough to keep them conscious enough to enjoy the small moment. 

Jean dramatically fell onto the ground as he continued to sing, “See the flowers breathing innnnn the raaaaiiin.” Just that alone was able to make everyone much louder than they had the entire night. 

Eren continued to drink leaning into Reiner’s shoulder nonchalantly. “ To answer more of your question from earlier, I think I also want to travel. They have really good genetic research in Italy. They basically try to help people with unknown illnesses.”

Reiner hummed as he turned towards him, “That seems like a fun idea. You never really told me what led you to be so interested in saving others. Is it something you just feel like doing?” the blonde asked, leaning in closer.

Eren’s expression turned into a different one although Reiner was a bit too drunk to be able to decipher what he was feeling. “My mom was sick for a while. A lot of doctors told us there was nothing they could do to help and the illness never showed up in tests. We eventually sought after a group of people who dissected her entire genetic code to see what the problem was. Unfortunately, it was a bit too late for her to recover at all.”

Reiner swallowed, feeling guilty for asking the question in the first place. “I’m sorry about that, Eren.”

“It’s okay, really. It’s what caused me to want to eliminate every illness out there but I’m barely realizing how impossible that is.”

Reiner’s head was swirling. He knew Eren’s resolve was good but he could’ve never imagined it was this noble. The guilt that had gone away for a while was coming back. Surely the reason Eren hadn’t mentioned the payment for the research was that he wanted to study someone who was just as noble as him. Yet, here Reiner sat next to him, fully conscious about the details Zeke had shared with him. The very least he could do was support Eren every step of the way.

“Look, Eren. Just the fact that you’re doing something like this helps a lot more than you think. I believe in you.” 

Eren’s expression softened as he spoke, “Thank you. It means a lot.” The brunette inched closer to Reiner in return. It seemed that whatever guilt Reiner felt instantly disappeared whenever he could just feel the other boy against him. They both ended up a lot closer than they originally planned but it was certainly nice. Reiner analyzed Eren’s face closely, focusing on his lips and his delicate cupid’s bow that subliminally called out to him. The alcohol had made his face turn a very natural pink as if angels had kissed all over his cheek and nose. Eren’s hair draped along his shoulders like it always did, making Reiner curious if the rosy blush had spread to the back of his neck as well. Eren turned to look at the blonde man. Reiner averted his eyes as quickly as he could. 

“Do you want another beer?” He asked.

Reiner put his empty can aside, “Sure.”

Eren got up from his seat, making the jock instantly miss the still warmth that was next to him. The rest of the group was starting to grow tired after rounds of karaoke and excessive drinking.

“Alright, that’s enough partying. I’m gonna crash at your place, Bertholdt,” Connie said, tripping over the messy low table.

“Fine, fine. Reiner, you coming?”

Reiner shook his head, “Nah, I’m crashing here. Connie can sleep on my bed.”

With that, Bertholdt and Connie waved as they exited the door. Eren sat back down next to Reiner, attentively watching how Armin and Jean continued to dance around the living room.

“Am I sleeping on the couch?” Reiner asked as he cracked open his last beer.

“Hmm, probably not. Armin doesn’t like other people sleeping in his room and there's no way I’m sharing with Jean. I doubt you’d want to as well.”

Reiner furrowed his eyebrows questionably, “So outside?!”

Eren drunkenly said, “No, you can sleep in my room.”

Reiner froze, eyes widening. _Relax, relax. Guys do this all the time._

“Ohh right.” 

Eren finished the last bit of his beer, “Lemme know when you get tired. Looks like these guys are gonna give out soon.”

“Armin, you’re like, my best friend,” Jean said, letting out a hiccup in between his sentences.

Armin continued to sway with him, “And you are mine! I love you brother!”

After a few more minutes, Armin headed off the bed. Jean was quick to push the 2 boys off the couch too as he was holding some blankets in his arms. Eren shut off all the lights and dragged Reiner to his room. Reiner stood at the door, analyzing everything in the bedroom. Eren’s bed was half made, band posters scattered all over the walls. His desk was cluttered with textbooks and his closet was slightly open, revealing a whole line of monotone clothes and interesting shoes. The room smelled like Eren as well. Reiner inhaled as he took off his shoes before entering completely. Eren was already taking out some thick blankets and setting them out on the floor. 

“Oh by the way, do you have an extra shirt I can sleep with?” Reiner asked.

“Hmmm, I think only one would fit you. Let me fetch it.”

Reiner sat around on his pile of blankets, a bit flustered by being surrounded in Eren’s scent. Eren rummaged through his drawers before finding the oversized shirt.

“Here you go. I don’t know if it’ll fit you well but it's the largest I have.” The shirt was just a plain black color with a random American band on it.

“You listen to these guys?”

Eren sat on his bed, “Eh, not really anymore but I did listen to them a lot at some point. Do you even listen to music, Reiner?”

“Not really. I usually only listen to those workout playlists on youtube.”

“There’s no way that’s all you listen to.”

“I’m serious! I don’t really know anything besides popular stuff.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make you a playlist soon.”

Reiner blushed and looked towards the shirt again, “That would actually be pretty nice.”

“Yep. It’ll help make you a bit cooler. You’re a big softie now.”

“And you’re all reserved.”

Eren laid with his arms behind his head and his legs crossed, “I think we’re cooler this way. The only thing is that things just get more boring once you’re older. I think becoming friends with you again makes me feel like I did my first years of college.”

Reiner smiled to himself, “The next step is for you to start smiling a lot more like how you used to.”

“Maybe someday. Now hurry up and get ready for bed unless you wanna wake up with a horrible hangover.”

Reiner turned away from Eren, unbuttoning his shirt before sliding it off. Eren looked towards his side to watch Reiner’s back muscles tighten, admiring the way every dip seemed to be sculpted to perfection. As soon as the magical view was covered with the opaque t-shirt, Eren stopped looking. The size large shirt fit Reiner more like a medium, creasing and tightening around his chest, leaving almost nothing to Eren’s imagination. 

“It’s not as tight as I thought it would be,” Reiner said, pulling the top blanket up to cover his lower half as he unbuckled his pants and pulled them off. 

Eren pulled a blanket over himself as well, turning on his side to look at Reiner who was laying on the ground directly next to his bed. 

“You can have it. It looks like the stuff you wear to the gym.”

“Hell yeah. Now I can say I’m a Weezer fan.”

Eren groaned, “Oh god nevermind. Give it back tomorrow morning.”

Reiner chuckled as he hugged one of the pillows Eren had given him. It was like he was being engulfed by Eren’s smell. Every breath he took filled his brain with the same emotions he received upon seeing the other boy. It was probably the most amount of bliss he had felt in a while. It could easily overpass the happiness he felt from even beating his deadlift record. 

Eren interrupted the comfortable silence, “Reiner, what am I to you?”

Reiner froze. Why would he ask him something like that so bluntly? Were Reiner’s stares enough to give something away? Had he possibly heard him moan the other day at the lab? The blonde was not someone good with confrontation. He decided to swallow his pride and be honest.

Reiner shivered before answering Eren’s risky question, “Someone I like very much.”

There was even more silence after Reiner’s answer. It seemed that time had stood still and yet his heart was beating like a jackhammer as he gripped the pillow tight. Reiner was already going through the 5 stages of grief due to the delay in response.

“I like you too.”

No more words were spoken after that. Both Eren and Reiner could not wipe the blush that was plastered on their faces. Reiner’s face was filled with surprise. Eren stared up at his ceiling with a straight face, feeling extremely peaceful. The moment was too exciting for anything besides silence. Before they both knew it, they were asleep, dreaming about each other.

When Eren woke up that morning, his head ached horribly. He looked to his side to see that the pile of blankets had been folded neatly and that there was no sign of Reiner. He checked his phone to find 1 message from him.

_Had to leave early. You looked cozy so I didn’t wake you up. Sleep well._

Eren’s mind flickered to last night. All he could really remember was giving Reiner his old Weezer shirt and that was it. Then the realization hit him. His eyes widened as he recalled asking Reiner what he thought about him.

“Oh my god, what did I do?” He asked himself out loud. That situation could have gone so much worse. Reiner had definitely changed a good bit. If he had asked him that question a few years ago he would’ve said something along the lines of “Are you gay or something?”. To be fair, old Eren would have said the same thing. This time Eren’s courageous bluntness really caused him embarrassment. It was true, however, he really did want to worship his perfect specimen. It took every fiber of his being to not drag Reiner into his own bed just to touch him and feel him up like he had done several times in his dreams. Eren walked out of his room, expecting to find Armin and Jean. Surely enough he did.

“Good morning, sleepyhead!”

Eren groaned, “God what time is it? Also, why is Jean still here?”

Jean responded with his mouth full, “Free breakfast.”

“It’s almost 1 PM. Reiner left early to go to the gym but he helped me make breakfast!”

Jean gulped down his serving of food, “What happened last night? He left looking extremely douchey and confident.”

“Nothing at all,” Eren said as he sat down next to Jean.

“I’m sure he just got some good sleep,” Armin said as he cracked open another egg for Eren. 

“Yeah more like post-cum sleep”

Eren rolled his eyes. He quickly finished his breakfast and hopped in the shower. He didn’t really know why but he got the urge to change his appearance a bit. He shaved the facial hair he had been growing out and tied his hair up into a bun. Now that he didn’t have class for a while, there was no reason to look like he was rotting from the inside. He texted Reiner as soon as he finished tidying himself up.

_can u come by later? I forgot to hand u all the test results_

He gathered the loose scraps of paper and tidied up his desk as well. Eren picked up the heavy pile of blankets Reiner had used. For whatever reason, he found himself sniffing a bit of them. They mostly smelled like himself but with a small faint trace of Reiner’s sweat. It was the smell of them together. Eren sighed to himself. He was really pulled into the crush now. He couldn’t help but smile internally at the fact that Reiner most likely felt the same thing for him. These newfound feelings of emotion were certainly new and surprising. 

Reiner headed to Eren’s place right after his work out session. His heart fluttered desperately. It longed to see Eren again. He wanted to lay eyes on the person who made him feel so vulnerable yet so safe. He took a few deep breaths before knocking on the door a few times. The brunette cracked open the door slightly to see who it was, basically flinging it open when he realized it was Reiner. 

“Hey.”

“Hey..”

Both men stared at each other, green eyes meeting honey-colored ones. Eren awkwardly pushed his hair back from his face, making Reiner instantly notice the change in appearance. _How could such a simple change make someone look so hot?_

“Oh, um, come in,” Eren stepped aside as he let Reiner in.

Reiner took a seat on the couch, setting down his usual bag and putting his phone on the table. Eren quickly scurried to his room to fetch the papers he had prepped.

“So, what are we discussing?”

“The results from your tests,” Eren waved the papers in his hand, “These are all of them. They include almost everything there's to know about you, blood type, family illnesses, genetic background, anything you might be allergic to, you name it.”

Reiner chuckled, “So you really do know everything about me now.”

“Yep, I even know your sperm count. I’ll have to say, your genes are impeccable. I barely found any negative results,” Eren sat on the couch next to Reiner.

“Holy shit. That’s actually so awesome to know.”  
“Yes, it is. Your genetic code is amazing, Reiner. All this is going to help me so much in my research.”

Reiner blushed, “Hey, like I’ve said before, you’re the one doing the important work.”

“Yeah well, but what’s a scientist without his research subject?”

“That’s also very true. Do you mind if I hang out here for a bit?”

“Nah, not at all. Stay as much as you want,” Eren said, putting some random show on the TV. Reiner made himself at home and fetched some chips from the pantry as well.

“Oh, by the way, Reiner. You know how I was bullying your music taste yesterday?

“Mhm,” 

“I made you that playlist.”

Reiner smiled, chips stuffed in his cheeks, “So quickly? Just for me?”

“Mhm. Just sent you the link.”

“I’ll definitely make sure to check it out. Bet it’s gonna have all sorts of stuff,” Reiner said as he sat back down on the couch.

“It’s just a bunch of random stuff I want you to try. Doubt you’re actually able to listen to anything other than Darude Sandstorm.”

Reiner scoffed, “I definitely do not listen to dead meme music.”

They both watched the documentary on the TV for a few minutes comfortably, enjoying each other’s presence. It was something about the ocean.

“Can we watch something cool?”

“Define cool please.”

“Like adult swim or something similar.”

Eren grabbed the remote, “Oh so cartoons for old buff guys?”

“Yes exactly. I’m gonna use your bathroom,” Reiner said as he got up.

“Sure go ahead. Don’t pull a Jean.”

“I won’t!”

Eren laid on the couch, occupying the empty space that was left. He scrolled through the many options that came up for adult swim. All he could imagine was Reiner laughing at the random jokes. It was extremely endearing to think of him doing the most mundane things.

He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Reiner had left his phone on the table and that it was buzzing. He ignored it at first before doing a double-take. He was never really the nosey type but something inside him made him look over anyways. It was a message from Zeke. His shitty stepbrother who he had cut ties with a long time ago.

_Yo. get paid Yet? Lol_

Just reading the name Zeke across the screen made Eren feel an extreme amount of anger. He reread the text over and over again. It really didn’t make sense. Why was Zeke texting Reiner? Had Reiner known about the payment thing all along? All this time Eren had thought Reiner’s cause was just as noble as his own when in fact, Reiner was using him. That would make so much sense. No one like Reiner would ever say yes to working with a weirdo like Eren. He swallowed the thick feeling in his throat, blinking back tears from the confusion and betrayal. It didn’t seem like a big deal, but to Eren, it stung ever so slightly, pushing him over the edge. Although he tried to look at the situation positively, his anger was starting to get the best of him. He sat still, eyes gone completely dull.

Reiner stepped out of the bathroom soon after. He froze when he saw Eren’s expression. 

“Hey.. What’s wrong?”

Eren grabbed Reiners phone from the table and walked over to him. He placed the phone in his hand with a strong grip. Reiner looked at him with a confused and almost scared expression. He looked at his phone screen and Reiner’s heart sank as he read the text from Zeke.

“Eren..It’s a misunderstanding-”

Eren completely shut him up, “Oh yeah? When were you going to tell me you knew my entire plan because of Zeke? You were fucking using me for money weren’t you?” the brunette inched closer to Reiner.

“N-no, it’s not like that Eren. I was going to tell you.”

“I find it much easier to believe you stuck around me like a dog just to make sure I would pay you more. Did Zeke tell you to do that too?”

Reiner blinked back the tears in his eyes, “No! I did this because I wanted to! I truly like working with-”

“You’re a fucking traitor, Reiner! I know you used me. I knew someone like you would’ve never cared about something like this. Just get out.”

“Eren, please listen.”

“I said get the hell out!” Eren yelled, his eyes filled with anger and disappointment. He was right, Reiner had no right to defend himself. He slowly walked over to get his bag, his chest full of complete sorrow and self-hatred. He looked back once more before heading out the door. Eren wouldn't even look at him. He was standing there with his back turned and his fists clenched at his sides. Reiner shed a single tear as he closed the door behind him. He ruined everything. He should’ve told Eren about the things Zeke had told him earlier. Reiner didn’t even care about the money anymore. Spending time with Eren had been more fulfilling than anything money could buy. Now it was all over. Whatever feelings Eren might’ve had for him, they were all surely erased by now.

As soon as Reiner arrived home, he locked himself in his room. His heart was torn to bits. He hated himself more than anything. His shaky hands took out his phone. He looked at the text he had received from Eren earlier. Reiner pressed the link for the playlist, rummaging through his things to find his headphones. It was incredibly hard to see behind all the tears. He pressed play on the playlist and laid face down onto his pillow, letting all his hot tears get soaked up by the white cloth. If only he had been more honest. If only he had done a billion things differently. Then he would still be at Eren’s dorm, shoulders brushed up against each other. Just the thought of that made him cry slightly harder, the pain surrounding his entire chest.

_“Bye June_

_I'm going to the moon_

_I hope you make it soon_

_'Cause I'm waiting on this moon_

_Bye June_

_I hope you make it too_

_I'm wishing you're there too_

_I hope you make it June”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry guys I had to stay true to canon in some way... I promise there is a very happy ending. On another note.. Thank you so much for 1k reads and 100 kudos!! it seriously means so much I never thought so many people would read my self-indulgent little plot with weird headcanons. I never wanna stop writing it!  
> p.s if you're curious about the playlist Eren made for Reiner it's right here. warning its just a bunch of alternative emo stuff https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3CoI1AxW2KQcwNssJRW3xs?si=V9fjvHjZQUqWdM8KHGxGLw


	5. Reconnecting

Is it possible to feel like your whole soul is ripped out of you? Is it possible to hate yourself this much over a simple mistake? Reiner had been laying in bed the entire day, lights dim with unchanged sheets and blankets bunching up at his sides, protecting him from whatever was to see him in such a wretched state. The simple misunderstanding and falling out with Eren had stripped him of everything. There was no message to wake up to in the mornings and there were no more labs to look forward to. All Reiner was left with was a shattered heart and self hatred. Being around Eren for that month had made him incredibly vulnerable and sensitive in comparison to the old Reiner who would’ve never moped around this severely just for a small misunderstanding. All the new Reiner wanted was to continue laying there, the same few songs playing on repeat through his headphones. 

He didn’t know the names of the songs that were playing and only vaguely assumed what they were called based on the numerous times he had heard them.There were certain ones in that playlist that seemed like they were meant to allude Eren’s feelings of love towards Reiner, but this was probably just a coincidence. Whenever the word “love” was muttered throughout the tunes, Reiner would curl up in his bed and feel the salt being added to his wounds. All the songs in Eren’s playlist were songs that they should’ve been listening to together and yet because of a dumb mistake, they instead brought tears to his honey colored eyes.

Sometimes after enough crying, Reiner would fall asleep for a few minutes only to find himself in a bad dream. He would wake up in a cold sweat, the same songs still playing into his ears periodically. Whenever he shut his eyes, all he could see were various versions of Eren, mostly the one that had pushed him away so coldly.

Reiner picked up his phone to check the time, trying to ignore the heavy feeling in his head from crying and sleeping too much. It was 2 pm, an ungodly time to be waking up. No light was shining into his room as it was trapped behind the heavy blinds covering his window. His body wanted to get up, to do something active and to forget about the whole ordeal. His mind however, just wanted to keep him sedentary and eternally wallow in self pity. He had to come to terms with the whole thing eventually. There was probably no chance of talking to Eren again and even less of a chance to build their relationships more like Reiner would’ve wanted.

Reiner got up from his bed, peering through one of the blinds to remember what sunlight felt like all again. He felt the warmth creep onto his face and he watched the birds that danced outside his window. His forlorn expression did not change. The welcoming beauty of the nature before him was something he could not accept. He felt as if he had no right to enjoy it. The blonde sighed deeply. He must have seriously liked Eren to be hurting this much.

The blonde carried himself out of his room with pronounced eyebags and droopy eyelids. The facial hair on his upper lip and chin had gotten stubbier. Bertholdt turned his head back to look at his friend while he was sitting on the couch.

“Reiner are you okay?”

Reiner shook his head slowly and walked to the fridge to see if you could find any scraps of food.

“You’ve been all mopey since you got back home from Eren’s place the other day. Did something happen?”

Reiner groaned as he turned around to face Bertholdt, “I basically fucked up our friendship.”

Bertholdt sighed, “The Zeke thing, right?”

Reiner nodded sadly as took a piece of bread and evenly coated it with peanut butter. 

“You’re gonna be fine, Reiner. It’s just Eren.”

“Yeah, Eren, someone who holds grudges for a billion years.”

“Over something so dumb? Come on man, you didn’t do anything bad.”

Bertholdt could tell Reiner that many times and yet they both knew that not much was going to cheer him up. 

“Why don’t you just try apologizing again? People tend to say things they don’t mean when they’re mad.”

Reiner hummed pensively, slowly chewing on his pathetic excuse for a meal, “ I guess I could try,” he said as walked back to his dimly lit room. Knowing Eren, he figured talking wouldn’t solve much, although the idea of laying his eyes upon him again regardless of the consequences was extremely tempting. Such an infatuation with the cold brunette was enough to make a selfish man like Reiner move forward. He just wanted to hear his voice again. He wanted to feel Eren’s sharp gaze on him again. It didn’t matter if Eren didn’t accept his apology. The man was desperate enough to accept any words that escaped from Eren’s lips. He deserved it after all. 

“God, Eren. What are you doing to me?” Reiner asked himself quietly as he got dressed. 

Reiner courageously jogged through the area, eventually reaching Eren’s dorm. He slowly climbed the short stairs leading to the door, taking a few deep breaths before knocking.

Here goes nothing, he thought. Reiner knocked rhythmically, the sound of his fists banging at the door not as loud as his unsteady heartbeat. The door slowly cracked open but the butterflies of nervousness and excitement disintegrated upon seeing blonde locks poke out of the doorway.

“Hey, Reiner!”

“H-hey, Armin. Do you, um, happen to know if Eren’s home?”

Armin’s smile became a more concerned expression, “Ah, he.. hasn’t been home for few days. He wouldn’t tell me where he was going.”

“O-oh.. is that so?” Reiner asked, relieved that no confrontation was to come but also disappointed in what he had heard.

“Yeah.. come on in,” Armin opened the door completely to let the jock in. The apartment was brightly lit with the incredible fragrance of food in the air like it always was but something seemed to be missing. It was strange to see Armin in the living area without the moody brunette on the couch. 

Armin sat on the sofa and wrapped himself in a blanket, “Eren’s not responding to any of my messages. Last time he did this was a few years ago when Zeke caused him some trouble.”  
Reiner nervously sat on the opposite side of Armin, “Yeah, I might have caused this. Zeke is an engineering advisor I know. He told me about Eren when I told him I needed a job and he also asked Doctor Erwin about the extra credit thing. I guess I never exactly brought that up with Eren so he seemed mad when he found out.”

Armin looked at Reiner sympathetically, “I hope you’re not blaming yourself too much. I’m sure Eren probably is madder at Zeke than you.”

“Why does Eren even hate Zeke? I thought they barely knew each other.”

“Ah, well Zeke is actually Eren’s half brother. They fought about his dad’s business for some time until Eren cut him off.”

Reiner’s eyes widened, guilt consuming him once again, “Wait, half brothers?”

Armin nodded, “Yeah it's some messed up family drama. I guess Zeke was trying to get details on Eren without you or him knowing.”

“God, I did more harm than I initially thought I did. I had no idea about him being his half brother or something,” Reiner sighed and put his hand up to his forehead in distraught. 

“Hey like I said, don't beat yourself up over it. Whatever Eren might have said to you when he was mad was probably not targeted towards you.”

“I hope so.”

“I know for sure he’s snapped at me a few times and regretted it the next day.”

Silence filled the room as Armin continued to drink from a warm tea that was sitting on the coffee table. 

“Reiner, you really like Eren, don’t you?” 

Reiner turned to look at the blue-eyed man, completely pale.

“Ah, I didn’t mean to pry! I was just wondering..”

Reiner groaned, “Is it that obvious? Don't tell anyone but I do like him. I initially came here to beg him for forgiveness.”

A small smile crept onto Armin’s face, “Then everything should turn out okay.”

Somehow Armin’s words were able to make Reiner relax a little. He knew Eren better than most people so it would be presumably that his word had a lot of value.

“Thank you Armin. It really helps.. I hope Eren comes back home soon.”

The 2 men finished their talk and Reiner headed out the door. He looked at the ground, saddened and with guilt. He still beared the heavy weight on his shoulders. There was nothing else to do besides going home and waiting yet another day for his Eren to come back. Maybe then he would be able to cry and crawl on his knees for forgiveness. He would do anything to be by his side again.

The rest of Reiner’s day was incredibly dull. He ate a meal and showered. He dried his hair with his towel as he sat upon his bed, looking over at the phone sitting at his nightstand. He wished it could buzz at least once for him. He laid on his back, letting his tense muscles relax above his springy mattress. Reiner continued the almost ritualistic activity of listening to the playlist Eren made for him. It was the only thing that could help him sleep now.

_When the truth is_

_I miss you_

_Yeah, the truth is_

_That I miss you so_

The sentiment behind the song specifically struck more cords with him than the others did. All of his feelings became so amplified. The guilt, the love, the longing. All 3 hit him at once, piercing his already frail and nimble heart. And all over a man he had caught feelings for only in a month. He closed his eyes for yet another night, wishing Eren would come to him at least in a dream. 

_So I crawl back into your open arms_

_Yes, I crawl back into your open arms_

_And I crawl back into your open arms_

_Yes, I crawl back into your open arms_

The next day was a repeat of the last, and so was the day after. The rest of the following week seemed to continue the same way. Reiner had managed to pull himself together and yet, there was still no sign of Eren. He hadn’t contacted anyone and his social media was still and abandoned. Somehow despite Eren’s continued absence, the blonde had managed to start working out again. He went back to drinking his eggy protein shakes and channeled the negative energy into his work out sessions.

In the afternoons, he liked to jog around the area, the scent of spring in the air making it into his lungs while its gentle smell calming his thoughts. Today he took the same route he had been repeating for a while, mostly because it happened to pass Eren’s apartment. Reiner stopped dead in his tracks as he turned the corner. He blinked a few times to make sure he wasn’t going crazy. There stood Eren, leaned forward on his porch, smoking a cigarette and contaminating the spring aroma that Reiner had been breathing earlier. He had his hair in his usually messy bun, nails still painted black. The blonde slowly walked towards the upper porch, standing at the top of the stairs that led to it.

“Eren?” 

He didn’t turn to look at him and continued to press his soft lips against the cigarette. Reiner wanted to grab onto him, feeling frantic and nervous that Eren would just vanish into a pile of smoke and disappear for weeks again.

The brunette finally spoke, “Why are you here?” His words were like knives being dragged along the dips of Reiner’s lower back, making the jock extremely nervous. 

“I just came to talk.”

Eren turned his head and finally met his green eyes with Reiner’s, “What is there to talk about?”

“I w-wanted to apologize,” Reiner said, not moving a single muscle.

The brunette crushed his cig with his boot to put it out, almost exactly like how he had done the first time he and Reiner met up.

“Come in.” Eren headed inside the apartment, Reiner trailing along like a shy puppy.

Eren shut the door behind Reiner, pressing his back against it and stared at the blonde lowly. There was not much light in the house today, meaning Armin was most likely not home. Reiner could feel cold sweat running down his temple, meanwhile, Eren stood there silently yet demanding to hear what the blonde had to say to him.

“I came to say I was sorry.”

“I can tell. I bet you came here every day looking for me.”

Reiner’s heart sank a little bit more, “If I’m being honest yes. I wanted to clear everything up.”

“Zeke told me everything. I went to see him and put an end to whatever he was planning. No need to look like a puppy that just got beat with a newspaper anymore.”

“But I still feel guilty. I wanted to make it up to you, Eren,” Reiner swallowed the bit of pride he had left.

“Why do you want to make it up to me that bad?”

“Because I know what I did wrong. I should’ve told you everything from the beginning instead of hiding it from you. I want us to be like how we were before all this happened.”

Eren scoffed lightly, “Isn’t it a bit selfish to just tell me things that you want?”

Reiner knew this was a bad idea. He knew deep inside that Eren would never let the grudge go even if it was so small. He dropped to his knees.

“Please, Eren! I’ll do anything you ask. I don't want any money and I don’t care what you think of me. I w-wan’t to be around you again. I’d do anything if it meant it’d make you happy again!” Reiner looked up at Eren, tears escaping his eyes. There was no more that he could do or say. It didn’t matter if he looked like a fool, he just wanted to be with Eren again. All Eren did was stare down at him. The tension in the room was too much to take and Reiner’s heart felt like it was going to burst.

Eren sighed sympathetically, “Get up, Reiner..”

The jock continued to sob and hic as he slowly stood up, his entire manly image ruined by the vulnerability he showed. He wiped his tears with the backs of his hands. Unexpectedly, Eren reached up to touch Reiner’s shoulders. He was hesitant as he stared at the other man. Reiner leaned into the touch, making Eren pull him in for a bittersweet hug. It was the closest the 2 had ever been. Reiner tensed up and kept his arms next to his sides before slowly moving to return the hug a few seconds later. Eren squeezed him tightly, soothing him and rubbing his back. All Reiner could do was lay his face on Eren’s shoulder, wiping all his tears on the black fabric. 

“W-why are you h-hugging me?”

“Because… I do forgive you. I was harsh to see how you would act but I didn’t think I’d make you cry.”

Reiner sniffled, “That’s so mean.”

“It was supposed to be a little bit of payback. I missed you.. you know?”

Reiner looked at Eren longingly, “You.. did?”

Eren nodded, still holding him softly.

“God. I’m going to pass out.”

“I did need some time to cool off, which was why I was gone for awhile. I honestly would’ve never guessed you’d be so torn over it. I guess I should’ve read your reaction when I got mad a little better.”

Reiner sniffled again, “Yeah.. All I did was cry for a few days.”

“You did? Over me?”

Eren felt Reiner nod into his shoulder.

“You are very strange.”

Reiner felt the warmth and smell of Eren that he missed so much become faint as the man pulled away from the hug. Eren looked down and Reiner’s hands before holding onto them and dragged him to his room. Reiner slowly trailed behind him, still jittery from the change in emotions. Both boys slowly fell onto Eren’s bed. The sheets were already warm and fluffy. Reiner instantly melted into them. The emotional exhaustion was incredible and nothing like the poor jock had ever experienced in his life. 

“You look extremely drained,” Eren laid next to Reiner and messed with loose strands of his blonde hair.

Reiner looked up at him, glaring, “why do you think?”

Eren slightly smiled, knowing that the glare was nothing close to menacing, “because I’m an asshole.”

“That would be correct,” Reiner answered and he scooted closer.

“You said you’d do anything for me, right?”

“Yes I did. But not right now.”

“So would you be mad if i suggested for us to hug some more.”

Reiner hummed, keeping up his slightly irritated act, “No. I wouldn’t be mad.”

Eren opened his arms, “Come here then, crybaby.”

Reiner slid over into the brunette's arms, too lost within the moment to think about all the little things he would usually be obsessing over. He didn’t need to think about Eren’s scent or slight warmth anymore. Eren was right here before him, hugging him, and engulfing him in his arms tenderly. 

“Good boy.”

Reiner blushed a bright red at the praise.

Eren lifted up Reiner’s chin to look him straight in the eyes. The blonde shivered under the touch, averting his eyes nervously. 

“Don’t be shy. You know we like each other.”

“I’ve barely been able to give that any thought because I thought you hated me.”

“I did for maybe 2 days but soon a week felt like it was going by way too slow without being able to see you.”

“Then why didn’t you text me?”

“I was scared you would’ve moved on after seeing how stupidly angry I got.”

Reiner shook his head nervously, “I told you already.. I really like you.”

Eren inched his face closer, “and I told you I really liked you too…”

Eren’s eyes were focused on Reiner’s plump lips. They flickered to the other’s honeydew eyes before soon looking back at the pink skin. He wanted to kiss him. It was the least he could do to make it up to Reiner after leaving him like that. Reiner did not seem to object, inching closer in the same way Eren did. The 2 men closed their eyes, turning their heads in opposite ways before slowly and tantalizingly meeting their lips together. There was only friction at first before the pressed lips continued to get more and more pushed together. The moment was a magical release of genuine affection. All the crying and all the yelling from the past disappeared. 

Eren moved his lips in sync with Reiner’s, slowly moving his sly tongue to rub against his bottom lip. Reiner’s needy lips parted, allowing the kiss to expand and get more passionate. The brunette’s tongue delicately rubbed itself along Reiner’s, earning a soft moan from the other boy. As they kissed, Eren shifted to get on top of Reiner. He caged him between his chest and the bed, still kissing him delicately and passionately. Their bodies pressed together as gently as their mouths did, every movement and feeling of warmth made both of the men feel an extreme amount of comfort. Their breathing was synced as they continued to rub their tongues against each other’s, Reiner’s giving in to Eren’s forcefulness as he let him explore his warm mouth. Eren tasted every bit of sweetness that came from such a warm cavern. He held Reiner’s face and slowly pulled away, leaving a small trail of spit between them. He pressed their foreheads together and their gasps for breath became as synced as their kisses were. 

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while, Reiner.”

Reiner huffed, “It definitely did not seem like it.”

“You should know by now how weirdly I behave. Plus, I haven’t had this big of a crush on anyone before.”

All Reiner could do is keep staring at Eren, “Then you should also know I only listened to the playlist you made for me on repeat for the last 2 weeks.”

Eren didn’t say anything in response and instead just kissed him sweetly.

“I’m never going to disappear like that on you again.”

“You better not or else I’ll be the one yelling at you.”  
Eren chuckled, “You’re too needy for that,” he said as he pulled in Reiner for a closer hug, this time spooning behind the larger man. Reiner’s heart could seriously not take anymore of these sorts of touches. His body just kept getting hotter and hotter.

“Is it okay If I fall asleep here?”

“Of course, my puppy.”

Reiner’s ears got extremely hot, “Mm, what’s gotten into you?”

“Ah, sorry. It slipped out.”

“I don’t mind if you want to call me that.. just warn me next time.”

“No promises. You’re cute when you’re flustered,” Eren covered both of them in his soft blanket. Reiner thought about how crazy the situation was. What on earth caused him to fall in love with such an odd man? It was so obvious now. The reason Eren had acted so strangely and unpredictably during the falling out was because he was obsessed with Reiner as well. Small things make people in love do strange things, don’t they? The feeling of Eren’s steamy breath against the pale skin on his next made him shiver. He settled into his hold more, letting his eyes relax. There was no need to dream this time. He had gotten everything he wanted.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo writing this chapter sure made my heart feel good. Thanks again for all the support and super nice comments! Can’t wait to update again :3 don’t forget to check out the playlist if you wanna feel more ~immersed~ the song playing this time was warning sign by coldplay. is it obvious Im a huge sucker for corny love?


End file.
